The Loyalty
by adromir
Summary: As a team leader, Ed Lane is very loyal to the core. He would do anything to protect and keep his teammates safe. Even if it means putting his own life at risk.


**Hi, there. Yes, it's me again. Tired of me already? Just say so and I will go into hiding. ;)**

**Here's a short fic centering on Ed. I've loved this guy since he made THAT shot in Scorpio. Outside, he looks tough and hard and formidable. But inside he's a real softie, only he rarely shows it. **

**This fic is dedicated to Ed's loyal fans out there. Enjoy.**

**Summary : As a team leader, Ed Lane is very loyal to the core. He would do anything to protect and keep his teammates safe. Even if it means putting his own life at risk.**

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"Boss, the subject was here just minutes ago," Ed spoke into his com link as he and Sam emerged from the office of a travel agency at King Street. "His colleagues saw him come in to issue an airline ticket before he went back out in a hurry."

"An airline ticket?" Parker wanted confirmation. "To where?"

"A direct flight to Vancouver," Sam said. "Looks like he's going after his wife."

A half hour ago, Team One had received a hot call regarding an angry young man who broke into a house near Riverdale. Armed with a revolver, the man waved it about at the homeowner, his own sister-in-law, and demanded to know where his wife was.

At first, the woman refused to tell him anything, but he had escalated and started shooting at the ceiling. Fearing for her life, she reluctantly admitted that her sister had taken the first flight out to Vancouver earlier that morning to stay with their parents. After a year of hard living with an abusive husband, the fleeing woman had had enough and wanted to file for a divorce. The husband, however, refused to accept it. He would not easily let his wife go, vowing that he would follow her and drag her back by her hair.

It was up to Team One to stop him.

"Sarge, a call just came in," Winnie's voice sounded clear in their headsets. "The subject's car has been sighted at College Street. It's moving north."

Still at the home-invasion scene with the rest his team, Parker said, "He's on his way to the airport then. Winnie, give his descriptions to the airport securities. Tell them that the man is armed and disturbed and not to be let onboard any plane."

"On it."

"We're closer, Boss. Sam and I are in pursuit," said Ed as he leapt behind the wheel of their SUV.

"Copy that, Eddie. We'll join you soon after we finish wrapping up here."

Sam was already studying the GPS map on the screen of their laptop computer, trying to find the quickest route to gain on the subject. "We cannot let him get onto the freeway. I'll instruct the unis to issue a roadblock near St. Claire."

"Good idea," Ed agreed, stepping on the accelerator. The SUV jumped off the curb and sped away amidst blaring sirens and flashing cherries.

His gaze still intent on the GPS, Sam gave directions, "Ed, hang a right at Fashion and go all the way up. Hopefully we'll be able to catch him before he reaches Dupont."

"Got it." Ed nodded. "What is this guy driving again? A sedan?"

"Yeah, a ten year-old silver sedan. No match to our speed."

"He has a head start of about ten minutes."

"With the way you're driving, we'll get to the airport before he does, not that we're letting him."

Ed chuckled. "Your faith in my driving skills is really comforting."

"I have no faith in your driving skills at all," Sam glibly responded. "My faith is entirely in the performance of our vehicle."

"Ah, you wound me."

Sam just grinned and continued to concentrate on navigating. Ahead of them, the afternoon traffic was slightly congested, but Ed managed to squeeze through without lifting his foot off the gas. In fact, other motorists quickly eased to the side to make way for the SRU officers.

But not all motorists were fully accommodating.

At the intersection of College Street and Spadina Avenue, when their vehicle was blasting past under a green light, Sam noticed a large dark shadow looming close on his right. His eyes widened in alarm.

"Ed!" he yelled a warning, a split second before their world erupted into chaos.

Upon impact, their airbags deployed, pinning both SRU officers helplessly to their seats as the SUV rolled over several times, throwing them around like crash-test-dummies. It happened too fast for them to take in. When the SUV finally stopped rolling, the following silence was terribly eerie. None of the occupants of both collided vehicles seemed to be moving.

Ed came to at the sound of someone groaning. It took him moments to realize that it came from his own mouth. He blinked in a daze, finding himself still strapped to his seat upside down, letting him know that their vehicle had turned turtle. In the midst of it all, his ears were being bombarded by the frantic voices in his com link, miraculously still attached and working fine.

"Ed, Sam! Guys, do you copy? What the hell happened? Answer me, goddamn it!" Parker screamed in growing panic.

"Boss…" Ed croaked, grimacing as the pain in his head intensified. He felt the blood trickling down the bridge of his nose to land onto the roof which had now become the floor, broken glass everywhere.

"Eddie." The Sergeant heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god, buddy. What just happened?"

"We got t-boned." Ed swallowed hard as another wave of agony ran through his body. "At College…and Spadina…need assistance…"

"Okay, we're heading for you right now. Just hang on. Winnie, send the EMT!"

"Boss, the subject…"

"Don't worry about it, Eddie. The unis are putting up a roadblock and Team Three will assist. How's Sam?"

That question sent a shiver of unease down Ed's spine. Sam had gone quiet after the crash. Too quiet.

"Sam?" Weakly, Ed shoved the deflated airbags out of his face as he tried to get a good look at his teammate. "Sam, can you hear me?"

The younger man didn't reply. Sam stayed unconscious with half of his face covered in blood. Ed didn't like the look of his mate's still body, which nestled tight against the crumpled door. Sam's right side had taken the brunt of the crash. Who knew what type of injuries he had sustained.

With much difficulty, Ed unbuckled his seat belt. He grunted as he felt hard on his head, but he didn't dally to savor the pain. Taking off one glove, he reached up to touch his teammate's neck and was relieved to find pulse.

"Hey, are you guys okay in there?"

Ed wearily turned towards the voice. A group of people was crowding right outside, acting shock and excited as any crowd wont to do when they witnessed a vehicular accident.

One man in particular was peering in with great concern and anxiety. "Sir, you need to get out now. The fuel is leaking and the engine is on fire. It's gonna explode!"

Hearing that, the surrounding crowd cried out in fear. While most of them hurriedly rushed off for safety, several people remained to lend a hand to the trapped SRU officers.

"Watch out for sparks!" one of them was yelling his caution.

"Sir, we can help pull you out," said the first man.

"Wait, I need to get my friend first." Turning back to Sam, Ed searched for the seatbelt buckle. After releasing it, Sam dropped heavily into his arms, tumbling them both to the ground. Sam moaned.

"Sam? Are you with me?" Ed wrapped a supporting arm his friend's chest.

"Ed…what?" Sam's eyes flickered open before they fall shut once more.

"It's okay, Samo. I'm getting us out."

When Ed scooted backwards towards the window, Sam let out a sudden yell of anguish. Ed froze. "Sam?"

"My leg…" said Sam through gritted teeth, his eyes glazing from extreme pain. "It's stuck."

Ed looked up, and to his dismay saw that Sam's right ankle was buried between the twisted metal. It was not going to be an easy task freeing him without a proper tool. To add to the predicament, they had not much time!

Meanwhile, the people outside had grown more frantic. "Come on! You guys need to get out. The fuel almost reaches the engine. It will blow any second!"

"Sir, give me your hand," the first man said, reaching in for Ed.

"No, _you_ go," Ed told him. "Save yourself."

When the man didn't budge Ed barked, "Do it now! Take cover!"

Nodding, the Good Samaritan backed away and ran for safety.

"Ed…you need to go too." Sam's voice was so soft that Ed almost missed it.

"Be still, buddy. I'm gonna free your leg."

"No, stop!" Crying out, Sam shoved hard against his team leader. "Leave me, Ed! You must go while you still have time!"

"I'm not leaving you!'" Ed shouted back. "Now stop struggling and help me free your leg!"

Sam's head was shaking. "This is hopeless. I'm so damned stuck you need to saw at my ankle to cut me loose. Please, Ed. Just go. Please go…"

His blue eyes blazing, Ed held Sam's face and gave him a direct stare. "I will not leave you, you understand that? I. Will. _Not_."

Finally, Sam nodded in resignation.

Ed smiled reassuringly. "Good. Now let's stop wasting time. I'm gonna pull and you're gonna shove until your foot is free. Ready?"

Sam swallowed and prepared himself for the onrushing pain. "Ready."

"Okay. On two." Tightening his grip around Sam's chest, Ed began to count, "One, two—pull!"

Muscles bulging, Ed yanked. Screaming, Sam shoved his other boot against the mangled dashboard for more leverage. After several heartbeats, the trapped leg moved about an inch.

"Alright," Ed said next as he ceased yanking. "Let's do this again…"

"Ed…"

"Should I knock you out to shut you up, Samo?" Ed growled. "Again. One, two—pull!"

This time, it went on longer than the first attempt. The pain was excruciating, but Sam held on for Ed's sake. Alternately screaming and cursing, he was near to passing out when his foot suddenly popped out of its deadly trap.

There was no time for celebration, though. The seconds Sam was freed, Ed grabbed him firmly around the torso and hurriedly dragged him backwards over the glass-filled roof and out through the broken window. There was no way they could open the mangled door. Besides, it would only create sparks, which what they didn't really want with leaking fuel nearby.

"Come on, Sammy. Come on…" Ed kept on saying as he helped his teammate crawl away from their wrecked SUV. They had only managed to cover five feet when it exploded, throwing them flat onto their faces. The blast was so intense that they could feel the searing heat against their backs.

"Aw, shit." As falling debris peppered the ground around them, Ed quickly raised his arms to cover his head and Sam's.

"Here, let us help you." The good crowd had returned to give their assistance. Even with the SUV burning hot only a few feet away, several men bravely approached to get both SRU officers to safety. Ed limped away with his arms draped over the shoulders of two men, followed by two others who carried the half-conscious Sam.

The curious crowd now had turned into a helpful one. They talked over one another as they attempted to control the situation.

"Anyone has any fire-extinguishers?"

"Here. I got this from the office next door."

"Don't get too close! There could be another explosion."

"Where's the EMT?"

"It's coming. Listen. That's the siren."

As Ed and Sam sat next to each other with their backs against the wall of a nearby building, the female crowd was fussing over them like mother hens.

"They're bleeding pretty badly," said a teenage girl as she pressed her hankie against the long gash on Ed's head.

An elderly woman draped her coat over Sam's trembling frame, who managed to smile his thanks, "Look, I'm fine. Really."

"Hush, young man. You're going into shock. It's important that you keep warm. I was once a nurse and I know what I'm talking about, so you'd better listen to me," she admonished.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam dutifully replied. He exchanged sheepish glances with Ed, and they both broke into weak grins.

"So what happened to the other driver?" Ed asked, wincing a bit at a slight pulling in his chest. Must be a busted rib. Or two.

"He's dead. They said his neck is broken," the teenage girl said, looking slightly pale. "He drove that van over there."

The SRU officers looked to where she was pointing. A dark-blue delivery van was lying on its side across the road, its front cab crumpled inward like a soda can. Sam involuntarily winced, as if reliving the impact.

"I saw it all," she continued to say. "He ran a red light and then just plowed into you. Must be color blind or something."

Ed shivered. Looking at the sorry state of both delivery truck and their SUV, he could tell that he and Sam were extremely lucky to escape with their lives. He then noticed that Sam was sending him a meaningful gaze.

"Thanks, Ed," the younger man quietly said.

"For what?" Ed smiled back. "Dragging out your ass?"

"For not leaving me behind. You could have saved yourself, but you didn't give up on me. That's not a small sacrifice you've made."

"Sam, you would do the same for me too."

Both men held that gaze for several more moments, sending respect and appreciation back and forth. It was a gaze that could only be fully understood between fellow comrades, between brothers-in-arms. A gaze shared when one man knew that the other man would always has his back, no matter what.

Soon afterwards, the approaching sirens grew louder until an ambulance rounded the corner. Behind it were a couple of familiar looking black SUVs, sisters to the one now lay burning into rubble in the middle of the intersection.

"Great. Here comes the cavalry," Sam muttered, wincing at the prospect of getting smothered to death by Jules. His sexy sniper chick could be too motherly sometimes.

"Awesome," was Ed's short reply.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened just now, it does prove one thing, though."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Your driving sucks!"

**THE END**

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**That's it from me this week. See you all later alligator!**

**Adromir is going therapy-shopping. LOL! ^_^**


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